On the occasion of World Tourism Day, the Gozo Tourism Association, together with the Gozo NGOs’ Association, organised a half day conference at the Grand Hotel, Mġarr. The conference, entitled ‘Optimising the synergies within the tourism and volunteering sectors’, was opened by Gozo Minister Justyne Caruana.

Malta Tourism Authority deputy CEO and strategic development chief officer Leslie Vella gave a presentation on ‘The Role of NGOs in Enhancing the Tourist Experience in the Destination’, while Misco founding partner Laurence Zammit’s presentation was entitled ‘Participation in the Voluntary Sector - A closer look at Gozo’, giving an insight into how these two sectors can collaborate together to improve their respects roles. Afterwards, participants actively engaged in a floor discussion focusing mainly on how these vibrant sectors in Gozo can optimise their respect synergies.

Furthermore, the conference gave Gozitan tourism operators the opportunity to understand better the difficulties being encountered by the NGOs in organising their respective cultural events. On the other hand, Gozitan NGOs understood better the impact their end product contributes towards the tourism industry.

The conference, funded by the Small Initiatives Support Scheme managed by the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector,  was also addressed by Gozo Tourism Association chairman Paul Scicluna and Gozo NGOs’ Association president Saviour Grech.